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It was stated in the London-based Arab newspaper:
A month has passed since the devastating port of Beirut exploded, and scenes of fire, flying glass and the dust of collapsed buildings are still in Shady Rizk’s memory, trying to erase them, but the scars that the explosion “marked” on his body are pierced each time to repeat the tape of events as if they happened yesterday.
For days after the loud explosion, Rizk continued to play video clips that he had taken with his mobile phone, in what appeared to be a self-flogging as he had reached the state of Beirut, as a result of the recklessness of Lebanese officials.
Rizk recorded the footage from the balcony of his office facing the port, showing flames and plumes of smoke in the sky from materials that some officials knew to be highly explosive without even lifting a finger. Suddenly, there was an explosion, the windows smashed, the glass rattled, and the phone screen went black.
“There were 20 minutes (before the explosion), they had to ask us to evacuate and stop the traffic,” said the 36-year-old, who worked for a company that provided Internet services before the walls of his life cracked when the company’s offices crack on August 4. . Amid the screams of his injured colleagues, Rizk heard the office phone ring. He had temporarily lost his sight, reached out and picked up the headphones, and at the other end was a customer complaining about the slow internet speed. He replied, “We are dying here. Please call an ambulance. “Now Rizk is grateful for that call as it helped him find the phone to call home.
Rizk added, “My sister was the one who answered me. I told her I was dying and asked her to inform everyone of my greetings and greetings … and to stay on the line with me.” Rizk survived about 350 stitches in separate parts of her body, including many on her face, but she still has poor eyesight.
He said that the biggest reason for the bitterness he feels a month after the incident is not to question or arrest any government official after the explosion of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate had been stored in the port for years without any security measures.
A judicial investigator investigates the explosion, the circumstances of which are not yet clear, with the participation of French and American investigators. So far, 25 people, including senior officials in charge of the port and security men, have been detained, after it became clear that those affected at various levels were aware of the presence of hazardous materials stored in the port.
Rizk believes that “Lebanon will always be beautiful, but those who rule it make it very ugly and very painful. She got very ugly despite her beauty. ”Shady Rizk was one of tens of thousands who took part in protests last October against the sectarian system of government, rampant corruption, and the economic collapse that became more painful after the sudden loss of livelihoods and livelihoods, and the collapse of the homes of approximately a quarter of a million people.
“We try to make a revolution,” he said. We seek change. We tried hard and nothing was achieved. The situation is actually getting worse. “
When plastic surgeon Joe Baroud removed the strings from Rizk’s face, the two knew he would never be the same again. Baroud, who treated dozens of people with facial injuries in the blast, which killed at least 190 people, said: “The scars do not disappear completely, neither from the soul nor from the body … Time is enough to heal the wounds. but the skin will never return to normal. “
Haunted by memories of the painful scene, Rizk decided to return to his office building in the Mar Mikhael neighborhood, which has been devastated. There, with his closest friends, he cried for the first time, embracing sadness with serenity and determination. “We will never forget … We will never forgive,” he said.
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